Jokers Aside
by Dawntale
Summary: Flash says Gotham's criminals would rather be in prison than see Batman's batglare. It was only a harmless joke right? Episode after Rogue War.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or the JL or JLU. Any similiarity of events is purely coincidental

AN: This is the next episode after Rogue War. I haven't read the comics so I apologise to any incorrect facts. However, enjoy reading!

Chapter 1 – Last Supper

He was making one final sweep of the cells before retiring for the end of a long day. It wasn't a pleasant job to see inmates that society often labelled 'misfits' or 'delinquents'; and with good cause he thought when he saw the distasteful grin of Gotham's most notorious criminal. He flinched as the pale, heavily eye-lined face pressed itself against the bars.

'You wouldn't happen to have extra supper do you?' the faced asked. 'That last meal wasn't enough to make my stomach happy. After all, a strapping young lad such as me needs more munchies to keep me fit.'

The face pulled back, the smile ingrained as always as the criminal rolled up his sleeves to boast unimpressive arm-muscles.

Being a security guard for a mental institution, these were one of the many things he hated about the job. Opening his mouth to give a stern answer, he was distracted by another guard with pronounced feminine curves wheeling in a trolley where a platter of food was covered by the large metallic lid.

'Last Supper for Mr J,' quirked the voice.

If the hidden face under the blue cap did not alert him, then the voice certainly did and his hand reached for the pistol strapped to his belt.

Too late.

Harley Quinn's black-gloved hands removed the lid to reveal a lemon meringue pie that immediately lodged itself into the guard's face. He stumbled back under the impact and in the time it took for him to wipe the meringue off, Harley had intoxicated him. The security guard collapsed. Swiping the key from his belt, Harley proceeded to release her partner.

'Hey, that was supposed to be _my _last supper,' said Joker derisively to the unconscious guard. Laughing maniacally, he and Quinn bailed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Outside In

Left hook, right hook…and Wonder Woman pulled back her fist to let fly a particularly painful blow, causing Giganta to stumble back and trip over her own feet that sent shockwave rippling through the ground.

Cheetah was clinging onto the wall, eyeballing Flash's grinning face with a snarl.

'Here, kitty, kitty,' Flash taunted, opening his arms wide for a hug.

She took the bait.

Infuriated, Cheetah launched herself at Flash, her savage claws about to swipe him clean in the face.

The speedster smiled impishly. 'Gotcha!'

Before the cat could make a connection, Flash side stepped and grabbed her arms before whirring on the spot in a blur like a grandfather's top. She screamed when Flash suddenly let go, the velocity causing her to sail uncontrolled through the air straight at Giganta's fallen heap.

Right on cue, Superman picked up Tala before she could conjure another of her dastardly spells to throw at him and he hurled her at Cheetah. The two crashed and tumbled atop of the giant lady.

Next in the pile was Killer Frost as Green Lantern blasted her with two consecutive beams: one hitting the ice she travelled on and the second a direct hit in the chest where she fell on top of Tala.

Shayera Hol blocked a yellow beam sent by Sinestro, bringing up her mace in front of her face. Seeing this, the dark, elfin man grinned as he fired rapid shots at her. Each unblocked beam only missed her by the hair strand.

The grin didn't last however. Too busy with Hawkgirl, he failed to notice J'onn J'onzz flying in from behind.

J'onn delivered a blow into Sinestro's back that sent him directly to Shayera who raised her mace over her head, her teeth bared.

'Not good,' Sinestro mumbled as he saw what was coming.

The mace slammed into him, knocking him unconscious even as J'onn flew out of the way to watch the man fall into the heap below.

'Is that all of them?' asked J'onn as he landed next to Wonder Woman who was holding her lasso loosely in her hands. Her eyes were darting around, searching…

Atomic Skull ran screaming in terror from the darkness. Failing to see in front of him, he headed straight into Giganta's massive arm which was more than enough to send him tripping a good few metres high into the air before falling back down, completing the pile.

Not waiting any longer, Diana tossed her lasso until it enveloped them all. 'Yep,' she smiled in answer to J'onn's question.

They turned to see Batman calmly walking out, pocketing a silver device.

'What did you do to him?' asked Superman.

'Let's just say instead of seeing himself inside out, he saw himself outside in.'

'Meaning…,' said Flash. He only earned himself a Batglare that caused him to take two flurry movements back. 'Sheesh, I've always thought why we never see any Gotham material and now I think I know.'

'He can't be that scary, can he?' said Diana amusedly, withdrawing her lasso when the police entered with handcuffs.

The scarlet speedster shrugged and gave a rueful grin. 'Bats probably scares all his bad guys with that glare of his that they'd rather spend time in prison than see it.'

The seven of them stood in a circle as they waited for teleportation.

Back in the Watchtower, John immediately took off with Vixen who was waiting for him by the door; Flash only just overtaking them when the scarlet speedster saw Batman's intense gaze on him and fearing the worst, knew it wise to leave immediately.

'J'onn, we're needed back at the embassy,' Shayera told the Martian.

'I know.'

Taking the hint, Bruce, Clark and Diana stepped off as they watched their team mates disappear. Turning to smile at his friends, Clark said, rather sheepishly, 'I've got a dinner date this evening so I'll see you guys later.' However much he attempted to hide his delight, they saw it in his bright black eyes.

'Have fun.' Diana waved goodbye.

When Clark was gone, she and Bruce stood quietly for a moment. And then she grinned broadly at Bruce's next words.

'You're not scared of me, are you?' he asked her.

'No.' The reply was clear, concise and every bit of a challenge.

Bruce glanced at her before walking up to the black pad. Knowing where he was going, she decided now was a good time to say it. 'Guess I'll be seeing you this evening.'

He raised an eyebrow at her (presumedly under those white lenses). With a mischievous grin, she slyly stepped up to the console and hit the screen, saying, 'Wayne Enterprise has invited me to their charity event tonight.'

'What?'

That was all he had the chance to say before his particles vanished.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Gatecrash

So stunned was he that Bruce could only stand dazedly even as the stark shift in lighting caused the darkness of the Batcave to envelope him.

'Ah-hem. Master Bruce?'

He turned to see Alfred standing at the computer with a tea tray, an eyebrow raised in question.

'Alfred, did Bruce Wayne not receive a list of the guest's arriving tonight?' asked Bruce, finally able to regain control of his muscles in order to make his way over to his work station.

'I believe so, sir.'

'Then how is it that I did not know a colleague of mine would be coming?'

'A colleague, sir?' enquired Alfred in his usual dull chime. Had his master not known the man for nearly all his life, he would not have been able to trace the slight undercurrent of amusement in Alfred's tone that proved the man understood the topic under the innocence.

'Diana,' Bruce said pointedly.

His butler walked over and flipped open a file on the computer. Names began rapidly running across the screen under Bruce's scrutiny. 'If you recall, Master Bruce, you were intending to ask Miss Diana about her attendance because she was placed on the list at the last minute.' After a long scroll down, the butler finally stopped to where Wonder Woman's name was, indeed, displayed last on the list.

'Who invited her, Alfred?'

'Master Fox did, sir. Apparently he thought it would boost the company's public image.'

'He's not wrong there,' grunted Bruce as he moved over to erase the list. 'Thank you, Alfred.'

'Very good, sir.'

Hearing Alfred's retreating footsteps out of the cave, Bruce could not help but let a small smile escape his lips as he set about updating his files.

Dressed smartly in a designer black suit with a red tie, the air headed billionaire was sharing a joke when he saw her enter. And he was not the only one.

Silence befell the room as every pair of eye, man and woman alike, trained itself on the wondrous Amazon who had gracefully glided in through the automatic doors of the glamorous restaurant. The lights seemed to have dimmed on everyone except a particular beacon had managed to train on her splendid figure. The midnight blue dress, as usual, accentuated every lovely feature of her divine being and it particularly marked Diana's deep blue eyes.

Even as Bruce walked over to her with Lucius Fox, every logical fibre of him screamed that it was not a smart idea. The little snag, however, was that it would seem very suspicious if notorious Bruce Wayne did not try to woo the star attraction of the evening; even if it was a super heroine.

So as Bruce gave a disarming smile while Lucius thanked Diana for coming, she gave his a glance that held a mischievous glint.

'I'm honoured, Mr Wayne,' she said, holding out her hands.

'The honour is mine.' As Bruce shook her hands, Lucius muttered something about seeing to the public press and quickly left.

The moment he was gone, Bruce's façade faded slightly until he was no longer giving her a massive boneheaded grin but rather a soft, friendly smile.

'Shall we?' he asked, guiding her to the dance floor even before she could answer. 'I appreciate your presence tonight. It'll help boost our reputation,' he told her as they danced to a slow waltz.

Diana smiled as she cherished the rare moment. 'I'm glad I could help out. Your company, after all, is for a good cause,' she hinted. 'And you still owe me a dance, _Bruce_.'

He laughed lightly. 'I wasn't expecting to make it up so soon.'

She narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. They both knew perfectly well that it had been years since she'd held him to the unspoken promise. His eyes twinkled at her indignity.

'But I hope that a wholesome dance will make up for it,' he added.

No sooner had the words left his mouth that a mad cackle filled the air followed by screams of terror, the females' high pitched voices causing the chandelier above to shake.

Bruce and Diana instantly stopped and turned to see Joker's delirious face appear, his trademark grin in place.

'A party! How exciting! And I wasn't invited.' Joker pulled a pretentious and unconvincing distraught face. 'Oh well, this is now _my_ party and guess what the good news is, you're all invited!' He laughed uncontrollably, watching the opened and horrified expression on the people's face.

Bruce and Diana shared a quick glance before he untangled from her arms and raced away from her. Knowing where he was headed, she took flight in the opposite direction, shooting like a torpedo towards Joker.

The Clown Prince of Crime turned his grinning face to Wonder Woman when he saw her come and the grin only broadened.

Before she knew it, Diana was knocked aside by a sharp kick to the abdomen.

'Ohh, a special guest: Wonder Woman from the Justice League!' laughed Joker as Harley Quinn landed in a fighting stance in front of him.

'Pudding, she wasn't on the list,' Harley whined.

The red and white apprentice took a step back when Diana stood up, her fist balled in white fury. As she raised her knuckles, Joker piqued, 'I wouldn't do that if I were you.'

'And why not?' asked Diana menacingly.

'Because at this moment, a bomb is ticking in some special place and I'm the only one who can stop it.' From inside his purple vest, Joker pulled out a typical grey remote control with only a single red button. 'But don't worry, I'm a nice guy and I promise to leave these lovely people-' he pulled an unfortunate lady who was standing nearby up close to him, the fear and terror evident in her eyes as his mad pupils eyeballed her, '-in one piece if Wondy here promises to sit down quietly like a good girl.'

Suddenly Joker gave a yelp and dropped the control. Diana, guessing from long experience, searched the wall to see the black batarang lodged in the wall. She sprang into action and launched a fly kick at Harley Quinn.

'Batsy!' cried Joker as Batman glided down on him and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

'Where's the bomb, Joker?' the Dark Knight growled.

'Aww, what type of person do you think I am?' replied Joker, raising his hands up defensively. 'I mean, they don't call me the _Joker_ for nothing!'

Behind them, Harley Quinn was yelling abuses at Diana while making a valiant effort to avoid the Amazon powerhouse.

'Hey, lady, put some clothes on!'

Harley ducked a left hook. She attempted a jab at her opponent. Wonder Woman saw the slow jab, grabbed the wrist and swung Harley crashing into a buffet table. Screams of 'aahhh' and 'oohhh' came from the spectators as they hurried to move away.

'Here, have a banana!'

Diana swatted the fruit away.

'Don't make me ask again, Joker!' Batman ignored the yellow and white splat on Joker's head.

'Oh my, aren't we touchy today? Seeing as you asked so nicely, I'll say its strapped inside a wine bottle.'

'_Which_ wine bottle?' Joker grimaced as Batman shoved his face closer.

'C'mon Batsy! How would I know which one? There must be thousands of bottles around here since I put it in. We'll be up here all night searching for it!' Joker's sickly face pulled a grin. 'A night which _you _don't have.'

Batman glared at his nemesis, realising that he wasn't going to get anymore from the Clown. He locked the Joker up with a pair of handcuffs before spinning around to see Diana executing a perfect roundhouse kick into Quinn's chest.

'Wonder Woman, I'm going to have to find the bomb. You get the civilians out of here,' Bruce called out to her.

'Can't you just deactivate it using this?' Diana asked as she picked up the remote control Joker had dropped.

'That's a diversion,' he told her. 'Knowing Joker, he probably has the real one hiding somewhere else.' His eyes began sweeping his surroundings, his brain furiously deducing where the bomb might be.

'That's it there isn't it?' asked Diana, pointing to a wine bottle at a drinks counter. The red bottle was significantly larger than average, with a red ribbon tied around the neck leaving no doubt about its uniqueness. Inside, faintly visible, were red digits decreasing every millisecond with five minutes remaining.

Stepping closer, Bruce could not help but feel a tingling sensation that something was not right.

BANG!

Shards of glass burst from its busted windows, flying everywhere as rough, black cladded men crashed in. They fired at Diana who instinctively raised her silver bracelets to deflect the shots.

Bruce saw her throw her tiara and impressively disarm half the men. He took another second to enjoy her swift fly kick and then spun around to prise open the wine bottle.

The time was 3:49:24.

Withdrawing a set of pliers from his belt, Batman quickly worked through the wires. His mind ticking impenetrably as Bruce felt Diana grill the men behind him; he still could not shake off a nagging feeling that he was missing something…something important.

2:36:45.

He cut the last of the wires: a thin metallic line that lay closely hidden beneath the blue set. And then he drew a sharp breath as he realised, too late, what he was missing.

It was too obvious. The wine bottle had been easily noticed when searched for and Diana, though sharp with her eyes, should not have been able to find it if it was truly and deviously hidden. And then Batman recalled those devastating words: '…they don't call me the Joker for nothing…'

Angry with himself, he twisted to see the Joker grinning madly at him from the other side of the room. Then his face widened in horror as from outside the shattered windows, Batman's trained eyes spied the shiny, bronze metal barrel of a M72 LAW rocket launcher. It was aimed at Diana's back.

'NO!' he yelled as he saw the gas escaping and the 66mm warhead shoot out from its holder. Bruce did not think twice as he ran and threw himself onto Diana, shoving her away.

'BATMAN!'

The explosion was deafening, blinding them all. Even as Diana shielded her eyes from the glare, she could not help but cry out despairingly.

'HAHAAHHAAAHHAHAAHA!'

Tormented, the Amazon Princess stood up before the impact had subsided and caught him, careful even in her state of turmoil, to hide his face against her chest.

'Two for the Watchtower!' she shouted desperately.

And as Diana teleported with a half torn Bruce in her arms, Joker's maniacal laughter echoed through her mind like a sharp blade.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Stubborn Death

'Get J'onn J'onzz, NOW!' shouted Diana, neither knowing nor caring who the person at the console was as she shot off from the pad and out the room,

The members ducked out of her way when they saw the pain mixed with fury across Diana's face; the bloody and blackened man in her arms. His blood dripped on the floor in his hellish state. Diana did not stop until she reached the medical unit.

One glance at the pale and ghastly figure of the Amazonian immediately set the team rushing off. They grabbed the nearest ECG machine and fumbled with the wires; shouting abuses at each other when someone made a mistake or crashed into another. Two members rapidly hooked the machines to Batman's chest and another pair ripped off his burnt and now useless Kevlar body armour.

Despite having laid him on the bed, Diana did not withdraw her arms away from his face as some incredible small conscious part of her mind made her wary to the importance of his secret identity.

The Martian Manhunter materialised out of the ground and with one swift glance at his friends, he wasted no time in barking out orders.

Never in the history of the league's medical team did they work at a rate which challenged the speed of light or so intensely that not a single hero dared venture near the room in fear of the verbal assault they would receive. Chaos could not describe the situation, not while every person's utmost focus was driven towards saving the one precious life; a preciousness that they had yet come to know.

As the medical team worked for hours on end, every other member of the league waited anxiously for the life of one of them.

It was only after twenty-three hours of treatment from the most advanced medical technology did Diana finally leave the room. When she stepped out, Clark and Wally caught her as she nearly collapsed.

They were all there; nearly every single hero stood lined against both sides of the wall, worry and anxiety etched on their faces as they peered at Diana. But no one said a word as Wally and Clark gently held onto the Princess until she could gain a steady feet.

When Wonder Woman did look up, she gazed intently into all their faces.

'Is he-?' Green Arrow braved the silence.

'He's still in critical condition,' said a tired J'onn from behind, stumbling out. 'I've stopped the bleeding and repaired most of his vitals but it is a miracle he survived such a close impact from a rocket. Even protected as he is, he should be…I cannot say whether he'll-' J'onn could not finish the phrase as his orange orb-like eyes looked away sadly.

There was a sniff.

'He'll be okay,' Wally choked in determination. 'The Bats' too stubborn.'

Despite the situation, the statement provoked reluctant smiles from the heroes.

'I know he'll pull through,' Clark added, laying a hand on Wally and giving one of his boy scout smiles.

The charmed worked like magic on wildfire. Soon, every league member was shouting, yelling and some dangerously close to swearing their encouragement; their hope and their faith.

'You can't get rid of Batman that easily,' shouted Green Arrow.

For Diana, it was a power surge that seemed to give her strength as she thought of Green Arrow's words and the tormenting laughter she last heard that had not ceased torture her mind. Smiling now, she raked her colleagues' faces and said, 'Back to stations everyone. The league still has a world to save.'

Amidst cheers and cries of emblazoned hope for the Dark Knight, the members gradually dissipated from the corridor, leaving the remaining founding members behind.

Superman turned to Wonder Woman.

'If it's not too much to ask, what happened?' To his surprise, she bristled.

'We need to find Joker,' she said, leading them away. The others hastened to catch up with her as she filled them in on the events of Joker's gatecrash and how he tricked them into believing there was a bomb.

'What I cannot understand is why he is still alive after taking an explosion so close,' J'onn J'onzz said, glancing at Diana.

'Maybe some of your invulnerability rubbed off on him,' Flash grinned at Clark who raised an eyebrow.

They suddenly stopped and realised that Diana had led them to the monitoring womb where Mr Terrific was temporarily absent. She strode over to one of the monitors and tapped the keys on the keyboard, causing images to disappear and numbers and letters to pop up in its place.

If there was one city that remained strictly off the monitors of the Watchtower and never ventured into any of the Superheroes minds for rescue, it was Gotham city. The only city that no League member dared touch based on the one fact that it had is overly protective and very able guardian who now lay immobile on a hospital bed.

However, as they now crowded around the screen of Gotham's landmarks that Diana had procured, not a single founding member had their mouths closed.

A live feed showed Arkham Asylum surrounded by dozens of erratic parked police cars blurring blue and red. Its stony grey walls were crumbling and large gaping holes stared out at them as through someone had taken a bite out of the building.

An auburn haired news reporter with a pale face and dark green eyes was giving a report. The caption identified her as Summer Gleeson.

'After twenty-four hours, police continue their investigation on the source of the bomb which has set as least a dozen of prison inmates free. They are on the lookout for notorious Gotham criminal Joker whom they suspect was responsible for the explosion; a follow up after his mysterious appearance at Wayne Enterprises. It was also noted to be the last appearance of Batman and since then, it would seem that Gotham's criminals have gotten bolder…'

'I think you were right when you said Batman scared the criminals,' J'onn spoke quietly, his eyes fixed on the scene in front of him. 'Batman's only been gone for a few hours and Gotham is now in riot.'

The camera swivelled away from the reporter and zoomed in on the hole where policeman were digging through the ruins.

Superman straightened up. 'We have to round them up.'

'I agree,' said Diana, flicking off the screen and replacing it with a map of the world. White flames where threatening to exude from her that Flash involuntarily took a step back.

'Hold on,' Shayera looked around. 'Has anyone told Alfred what's happening?'

Immediately distracted, Flash turned to face and grinned proudly. 'No need to worry, I told Jeeves right after Green Arrow told me.'

'Then let's go,' said Superman, already heading for the elevator with Diana close behind him.

'Wait a minute,' Green Lantern interrupted. 'Do we even know who to look for?'

'That's easy; we talk to Alfred,' Wonder Woman replied without looking back.

On the teleportation pad, J'onn strode up to the console and began tapping at the screen, activating the teleporters. 'I'll need to stay and make sure Batman doesn't get any worse,' he told them. Then they were gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – You can't be serious

Alfred knocked over a priceless Arabian vase in his shock as Diana and Superman walked in with the rest of the league members that he had once provided service to. It was lucky that Flash managed to catch the flower holder inches from the marble floor.

'Good day to you all,' the butler greeted, graciously taking the vase from Flash's hands and placing it back on the bookshelf.

Superman stepped up, not wanting to waste any more time than necessary. 'Alfred, we heard the jailbreak and we're here to help.'

The Englishman nodded, as though expecting it and in a way, he had. There was no reason for them to not assist a fallen member. He did not reply but once again led them through the grandfather clock into the privacy of the Batcave.

Flash, delighted, searched for a ginormous coin that he had once used to squash three Thanagarians, claiming a superb victory on 'tails'. He didn't get time, however, because John's vice grip pulled him away.

Reaching the computer, Alfred comprehensively uploaded document files on criminals that his master stored confidentially. There was a tiny whirring sound that caused the league to turn and see a printer spitting out piles of paper with images and facts smearing the once glamorous white pages.

A low drone signalled the completion of the printing process and Alfred took the stack of papers to give to Superman.

The Man of Steel glanced at it horrifically.

'There can't be that many, can there?' he asked the back straight, stony butler, rather uncertain of what he was holding in his hands.

'No, sir,' replied Alfred, infuriatingly unreadable. He paused. 'These are only a quater of the criminals.' With that, a tiny smile cracked the corners of the Englishman's lips.

Back out in the relieving light, away from the daunting size of Wayne Manor, the five friends stood in a circle, facing one another atop a bank building. They were all staring in disbelief.

'How did Batman do it?' said Clark, shaking his head.

Flash's whizzing hands were shuffling through the files at tremendous speed as he said, 'There must be fifty bad guys out there!'

'With this many people on the loose, we're gonna need help,' said Diana, reaching for her earpiece. 'Wonder Woman to Watchtower, we need any available member down here.'

She heard Mr Terrific's voice crackle through her comm link. 'Sorry Diana, but it might take a while for reinforcements to come. They're taking the Javelins seeing as I don't know the pass code for Gotham.'

When she lowered her arm, Diana saw them turn to her expectantly. Shaking her head while slightly wondering why Bruce could not make their jobs any easier, she told them of the delimma.

'Looks like we'll be on our own for now,' John stated the obvious.

'Hey, look!' Flash exclaimed, holding up two sheets of paper angled against one another. They saw an orange haired lady with impossible rosy lips and an attractive complexion slightly hidden under a file of a lanky, thin faced man. 'Check her out!'

Their only response was to sow their arms together and raise their eyebrows. Flash blinked at them.

'What?' he asked innocently, raising his shoulders in a half-shrug and giving a grin. 'Aww, c'mon. Says here she's dangerous. And so is this Scarecrow guy.'

Giving a sigh, Superman gestured to the scarlet speedster. 'Fine, why don't you and John go after her and the rest of us can search for Scarecrow.'


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Fear Intoxication

Superman was hovering high in the air, performing a rough x-ray search of the city. Down below, Shayera stared at Diana. The Princess was doing her best not to notice the scrutiny which she was under by gazing intently up at the man in tights.

'What was Joker doing at the party?' Hawkgirl asked.

Slightly relieved at having an innocent question to answer, Diana finally agreed to tear her eyes away and look at Shayera. 'That's what I'm trying to figure out.' Then she turned back to Clark who was diving down towards them.

'Our guy's hiding in a storeroom just below a warehouse,' he told them loudly. They jouned him when he pulled out of the dive just five metres above them and swerved towards the left.

'Diana, what was Joker doing at the party?' Clark asked as he led them around a high-rise apartment.

Shayera answered him instead. 'We don't know.'

He eyes narrowed slightly. 'It doesn't make sense for Joker to implant a fake bomb-'

'-unless he meant it as a diversion,' said Shayera.

'He did,' Diana told her. 'But a diversion for what?'

She and Shayera halted in mid-air when Superman suddenly spun on the spot and drilled down on the roof, creating a crunching sound as stone broke and fell. Sharing a glance with each other, their eyebrows raised, the two females then followed through the hole Clark had made.

'What was that in aid of?' asked Hawkgirl, glancing around a the dust filled room where cobwebs festered on the antique furniture. The only thing that seemed to have managed to escape its plague was the chemistry set where green liquid was bubbling inside a round bottom flask.

'There was gas in here,' he answered.

'What's this doing in a warehouse?' Diana ventured as she took a step towards the chemistry set.

'Probably what's making the gas,' said Superman, glancing around the room.

'That you are right,' spoke the ugliest face they had ever seen. The mask was made of mesh that clearly clung to the small, wiry head with evil white lens glaring out at them. It was the mask of a scarecrow.

Diana heard Superman gasp and spun round. Seeing Scarecrow throw his arms out, she reacted purely on anticipation of gas and threw her tiara straight at him. The golden crown sliced across Scarecrow's arms which caused him to yell in pain and retract it.

The creature ducked when Shayera took a swing at him and began to take flight. He ran past boxes containing tagged marks of 'fragile', 'handle with care', and the universal sign of a skull on crossed bones that signified poison. Scarecrows stick-thin arms shot out and knocked one of the boxes. The enture mountain began to wobble precariously before collapsing onto Hawkgirl.

The sound of glass smashing and breaking killed the ears. Shayera groaned under the pile with cuts from the broken glass staining her face as the wound expelled blood.

Superman flew over to help his friend whilst Diana swooped out of the room and chased after their target who had disappeared behind the doorframe. Neither of them noticed the red whisp of gas that was slowly escaping from the ruined boxes.

He was running along a darkly lit corridor when she caught up with him. Scarecrow turned to look fearfully behind him and see an incoming finely woven rope. The next instant, he was yanked backwards, causing him to miss a breath. He turned around and used his legs to attempt to resist Diana's pull. It was fruitless. The Amazon's strength was more than enough to reel him in, resistant or not.

'You're coming with me,' she stated with dead calm.

'I highly doubt that,' he spat at her. Then, a black hole appeared where his mouth must have been into a horrible upwards smile. They both heard the screams of terror and agony.

Diana's horrified expression turned to look behind her where he friends were and then back to see Scarecrow's fleeing behind. Worry overriding her anger, she shot back down the way she had come and stopped at the doorframe when she saw the red swirl coming out. Taking a step and preparing to enter, Diana was shocked backwards as Superman came crashing out, yelling in agony 'No!'

'Clark?'

'No, I'm sorry. I never meant it!' he cried desperately.

'Clark!'

'Stay away, I don't want to hurt you!'

Before Diana could do any more to help her friend, the man in blue and red punched a hole in the wall and flew out. The blinding light and air that filtered in the dark, mouldy building was refreshing as it chased the remnants of the toxic gas away.

The Amazon made to chase after Superman when she heard a shriek erupt from behind her. She turned on the spot to see Shayera thrashing on the floor, sweat and perspiration running down her wide, fearful face.

Realising Superman had to wait; the Princess flew over and attempted to pick Shayera up. She cried out in pain when the avian's mace whacked her on the shoulder blade.

'Let me out! Help!' Somebody!' Shayera's wild kick caused Diana to leap back before she could take another hit.

'Hera,' she muttered.

Seeing it was futile to even try to get near the Thanagarian, she unleashed her lasso on Hawkgirl. Sending a silent prayer of forgiveness to her friend, Diana took advantage of Superman's craftmanship and dragged Shayera through the hole into the skylight.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Despicable

'Of all the fool-hardy errands that I get stuck with, it had to be with you!' John growled to Wally down below him.

'Hey, this is gonna be a piece of cake. The chick's gonna dig me!' Flash called back cheerfully.

Green Lantern rolled his eyes.

'Have you actually got any idea where that woman of yours is?' said Lantern.

'No,' the speedster replied. 'But I figured if a hot babe like that loves roses, she's got to be in a rose garden. I mean, how many rose gardens can you have around Gotham?'

Flash suddenly disappeared in a haze of dust and debris. Lantern, shocked, halted in his flight and stared wide-eyed at the place Flash was last seen.

No less than ten seconds later, the scarlet being flashed a dazzling grin up at John's scowling face.

'Found her!'

Green Lantern could only mutter a curse as he followed his annoying friend's trail.

They stopped in frond of a velvet pink, glassy green house with a tinge of green emanating from the glass panels. The stark green was bountiful from the plants that encapsulated the green house as vines and lantanas groped along the ground and glass. Vicious and gentle looking plants grew outside the front of the greenhouse, giving an array of disorganised but splendid plant display.

A sweet aroma seeped into Flash's nostrils. He inhaled deeply.

'See, what did I tell ya? Sweet and hot,' grinned Flash as he walked towards the opened entrance of the greenhouse, puffing out his chest.

Despite himself, John felt extremely relaxed and light-headed. But some distant inner sense was having the jitters as he followed Flash.

'Hello, boys,' said a most luscious auburn haired female.

'Woah,' said Flash, drool attempting to escape from his lips

'Come to me,baby,' she juiced a poisoned sweetness into her tone.

Tough vines snaked itself around Flash's waist, who was utterly oblivious to everything around him. The vines slowly persuaded the scarlet speedster closer to where the woman sat, a seducing smile playing on her lips.

Green Lantern grunted behind, half willing, half resisting as he tried to fight the swirling mist inside his mind that was enticing him to surrender himself to the comfortable drowse.

'Nrrrrgh...Flash, don't...'

'I'm coming,' said Flash, completely swooning to Poison Ivy's feet. He puckered up his lips as he kneeled at Ivy's feet, his hands on the woman's thighs.

John found he was about to lose any inner struggle he was having when Diana's voice cut through the fog, clearing his head and bringing relief.

'John, where are you?'

He looked up to see Poison ivy completely occupied with Wally and, pretending to draw closer so she wouldn't notice her loss of control on him, he whispered, 'I'm in a greenhouse, just minutes away from the university.'

Diana heard him make a strange, nearly stangled sound from the other end.

'What's going on?' she asked.

'Poison Ivy's got some strange love...nrgh..finding it hard...ugh... to concentrate.'

Wonder Woman winced as John shouted 'NO, Flash!', the soundwave close to bursting her eardrums. 'Hera,' she said as she paused in midflight to listen closer for the background noise. She heard a faint thud.

Green Lantern saw Flash's lips touching Ivy's and a moment later, his lithe form collapsed. Then his eyes widened in fear when her deadly beautiful green eyes turned to him, the irresistible lips curving into a smile. He felt his body turn to stone as the vines pulled him closer, the muscles absolutely refusing to obey his natural instinct break free.

A sudden crash caused Ivy to jerk towards the door and find three males in costume standing stunned at the entrance: Green Arrow, Question and Vigilante.

'Welcome,' Ivy cried delightedly.

'When Diana called Lantern, Shayera was already independently airborne, having the last effects of the gas wear off.

Now the two of them were joined by Fire, Black Canary and Vixen as they flew down to the Green House.

'Urgh,' coughed Vizen, swatting her hand in front of her face to waft away the aroma. 'Who smells like this?'

The five of them approached the opened door and stopped immediately, shocked.

Green Arrow and Question were wrestling with each other, rolling on the ground and struggling to restrain the other's hold over their necks. They saw Vigilante slowly rising up to a beautiful woman who exuded as much intoxication as she did charm. Then there was an unconscious Flash lying sprawled on the ground.

Having seen her friend rehearse the word too many times, Shayera glared at Diana and said, 'Don't say anything,' just as the Princess' mouth opened and her eyebrows knitted together.

'Men.' The voice belonged to Vixen.

Both Shayera and Diana turned to look at her, surprised, and followed her line of sight to find John shoving Vigilante away and roving his hands over Ivy's shoulders.

Her eyes narrowed as she raised her mace. 'Despicable.'

'Yep,' agreed Vixen and the two of them launched themselves at the commotion in front of them.

'When I get my hands on Ollie...,' Black Canary ran over to the fighting pair with Fire close behind.

Diana stood with her hands characteristically on her hips, one knee slightly bent with a raised eyebrow as she watched her female companions devour their partners.

'Well, I didn't say "anything".'

Deciding that she neither enjoyed the smell nor the overly green plants, she thought she was better suited to run and find Superman, leaving her team mates to settle any score.

Poison Ivy saw the charging bird-girl and quickly laid a kiss on Vigilante, who had managed to return the favour and knock Green Lantern away. The cowboy slowly dropped with a smile on his face next to Flash, his guns never drawn.

'Arrgh!' cried Shayera. She suddenly plummeted, hitting the floor painfully on her chest. She kicked and twisted in a vain attempt to release herself from the tight grip the vines had around her ankles.

Vixen skidded to a halt mid-charge when she heard the Thanagarian's cry. 'Shayera!' The beast woman tapped her primitive necklace where a phantom image of a lion rushed out before vanishing.

Running over to a scrambling Shayera, Vixen raised her hands and held them in the shape of claws, ready to slash down at the tangles. A yell of surprise erupted from her when she was jerked backwards; arm first, onto the floor.

'You bug-eyed creep!' Vixen swore at Ivy.

'Hmm...I imagine one of them must be yours,' said Ivy calmly, bringing a rose over her chin. 'They're all so handsome and strong. Shame that's not going to last.' Ivy then gave a bloodcurdling screech when she saw Fire, green with flames alighting her whole body, hold onto a ginormous Venus Fly Trap.

'This yours, sweetie?' Fire asked in her Thick Brazilian accent.

'NOOOOO!' shrieked Ivy. 'My Baby!'

But Fire sent the flames gushing up the tendrils of the plant which shrieked just as painfully as its master. Ivy's mouth was round enough to perfectly fit a golf ball through as her face contorted in horror.

The vines around Shayera and Vixen recoiled from the searing heat. Together, the two of them swiped away any bold plants that ventured towards them. Spinning on their heels, they spotted Poison Ivy escaping through another door of the greenhouse with a pot of roses held in her arms.

'Oh no you don't!' said Shayera, making for Ivy.

'Shayera, wait!' yelled Vixen. Hawkgirl pulled out of her flight abruptly, slightly annoyed as she turned around. 'What?' Understanding dawned on her when she saw Vixen sitting next to a pale, sweating Green Lantern. Now that she was in no immediate danger, the growing heat that now engulfed the greenhouse began to make her head giddy.

'We need to get them out of here,' Vixen told them all.

Four super heroines dragged their unconscious males amidst flaming, falling plant and debris out into the open fresh air, away from the burning remains.

'Where's Wonder Woman?' Vixen grunted.

Shayera, who was helping Vigilante, gently lowered him onto the ground. 'Probably gone to find Superman. Hang on, I'll get the Javelin.'

Diana was hoping that Clark would not have inflicted too much damage in Gotham. Bruce would be after their blood.

'Wonder Woman to Superman,' spoke Diana into her comm link. A wave of relief flooded over her when she heard his voice return to her earpiece.

'Superman here.'

'Where are you?' she asked him. She spotted a pair of lovebirds walking past her into an ice-cream shop. It reminded her tantalisingly of Bruce.

'Gotham's Museum top' he replied, rather unpleasantly, which surprised her. She found it rather odd that he wasn't providing any of his usual boy scout manner through questions such as 'Are you fine?' Diana banked her body as a bird would as she headed to find him.

They saw each other: Clark greeting her with a rather grim face and Diana giving two alarmed raised eyebrows, thinking her worst fears were being confirmed.

Behind Superman stood a boy and a young woman. She landed lightly in front of Clark's stern expression. He never wore this face unless he was severely troubled.

'What happened?' she asked him, giving a glance at the other two dark figures.

'Scarecrow's toxic gas waned off a few minutes after I flew out.'

'You didn't do too much damage then.'

He gave her a small smile. 'Actually, I did do a fair bit but then got into trouble with these two.' He gestured to the two people standing behind him. 'Diana, meet Robin and Batgirl.'

TO BE CONTINUED

AN: I hope you've enjoyed it. I don't know whether anyone else has noticed that the Justice League likes to avoid characters from Batman for some odd reason so I thought I'd see where it goes. Please read and review and any suggestions would be most apprepriated.


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